Draining liquids and light solids may appear to be a simple concept with no room for improvement. However, various obstacles exist in certain settings and various circumstances that may hinder or limit drainage. While sinks, toilets and other fixtures provide for drainage, such fixtures provide drainage for limited activities in limited areas and sometimes clog and/or the flow becomes obstructed thereby leading to an overflow situation whereby liquids and/or light solids overflow out of the fixture, such as the toilet, tub, shower, sink, and the like onto the surrounding area. For example, a toilet and a tub provide for drainage of liquids and light solids within the tub and toilet. Nearly all individuals regularly associated with toilets, sinks, and other fixtures are familiar with the consequences of and problems created by an overflow situation, such as liquids and/or light solids leaking on the floor when a sink, bathtub, and/or toilet overflows. For example, FIG. 1 illustrates a typical toilet and its drainage system.
When an apparatus, such as a toilet, tub or sink overflow, the liquids and any light solids will ultimately flow out of the apparatus and onto the surrounding structures, such as a countertop, floor, wall, and the like. When an overflow occurs, one ultimately has to clean up all liquids and light solids that have overflown and moved out onto the surrounding structures, barriers and environment. Frequently, overflow situations may lead to damage, such as wet, warped, and physically altered flooring, walls, cabinets, wood work, base boards, and the like. For example, the effects of an overflown toilet onto a wooden floor and/or sub-floor may lead to a disfigured, warped, swollen, buckled, rotten and/or destroyed floor underneath the toilet.
FIG. 1 illustrates a typical toilet and its drainage system. As illustrated in FIG. 1, toilet 100 sits on floor 120 which is on top of sub-floor 130. Bolts 110 secure toilet 100 to floor 120 and sub-floor 130. Floor 120 is usually some type of material commonly used in bathrooms, such as linoleum, tile, ceramic, marble, and/or wood. Floor 120 is usually installed on top of sub-floor 130, which may be concrete slab for a bathroom on the first floor of a typical house or some type of wood material, such as plywood, for a bathroom located on the first floor of a raised house and/or a bathroom located on the first or second floor of a typical house. The drainage system of toilet 100 includes wax ring 140, flange 150, and sewer pipe 160. Wax ring 140 is positioned between toilet 100 and flange 150 whereby wax ring 140 surrounds the base of toilet 100, helps prevent toilet leakage from reaching sub-floor 130 and helps direct flow from the toilet into flange 150 and into sewer pipe 160. Thus, when a toilet is flushed, liquids and light solids exit toilet 100, pass through wax ring 140, into flange 150 and then into sewer pipe 160. In an ideal situation, toilet 100 will not clog and/or back up and drainage of liquids and light solids will flow into sewer pipe 160 with no leakage. However, it is commonplace for toilets, such as toilet 100, to become clogged so that any liquids and light solids that are prevented from draining through toilet 100 will back up and ultimately spill out of the toilet and onto the surrounding area, such as floor 120. When this occurs, the liquids and light solids will spill out of the toilet and flow over the surrounding area because there is no where for the liquids and light solids to drain. Such an overflow can lead to many problems. For example, some of the liquids and light solids that have spilled out of the toilet may reach various components located near the toilet, such as walls, cabinets, wood working and trim, furniture and the like, and may ultimately leak through a surrounding area, such as floor 120, and eventually reach the sub-floor, such as sub-floor 130, and cause various types of damage, such as rotting and/or warping the sub-floor, destroying the sub-floor, staining the sub-floor, wetting the sub-floor, and the like.
While items exist to help prevent and minimize overflow situations, such as plungers, a pipe snake, chemical clog removers, and various other plumbing tools, such items do not guarantee the elimination of overflow situations. Thus, individuals will continually be presented with the threat and occurrence of overflow situations and drainage clogs. Accordingly, someone will also continually be responsible for the task of cleaning up any liquids and/or light solids that overflow from an apparatus, such as a toilet, sink, tub, and the like onto a surrounding barrier such as floor 120 because of an overflow situation.
In addition to overflows and drainage clogs, current day drainage apparatuses and fixtures do not adequately account for condensation, water seepage, and many other problems, where liquids and light solids must be controlled to prevent problems. Further, current day drainage apparatuses and fixtures, such as tubs and showers, do not fully accommodate individuals with special needs, such as wheel chair patients, the elderly, the disabled, and other people who have difficulty when using the restroom and/or taking a shower and/or bath. For example, it is often difficult for the elderly, the disabled, and wheel chair patients to take a bath and/or shower on their own; often those individuals require some form of external assistance, such as the help of a nurse or aid, in order to take a shower and/or bath.
Accordingly, a need exists in the art for a system and method that provides for controlling, draining, removing, and disposing of liquids and light solids in various locations to help reduce and/or eliminate damage resulting from overflow situations whereby liquids and/or light solids spill over onto the floor causing damage. A further need exists for systems and methods that enable and/or aid the elderly, the disabled and handicapped individuals in using the restroom and/or taking a bath and/or shower with little to no help from a third party, such as a nurse and/or aid. Thus, various embodiments of the present invention will reduce the number of problems and amount of damage associated with overflow situations and will make it possible for and/or assist in enabling and/or aiding the elderly, the disabled and handicapped individuals so that these individuals may use the restroom and/or take a bath and/or shower with little to no help from a third party. For example, if an overflow situation occurs, or if an elderly, handicapped or disabled individual were to take a shower while sitting on a toilet, then any liquids and light solids that flow onto a surrounding area because of the overflow situation or due to the shower will be able to drain off of the surrounding area through the use of an embodiment of the present invention without the need for any quick cleanup of the liquids and light solids that have collected on the surrounding area.